Saving Me
by GRACE5
Summary: Post 7.01 TIVA. Set in the future.


"Daddy?" Zachariah whispered in the dark as he stood next to his parent's bed. His father's back facing him as he spooned against his mother. "Daddy." He whispered again, a quiver in his voice.

"What's wrong, Ry?" Tony asked softly turning over to look at his son. Instead of talking he pouted his lips slightly. "Bad dream?" Tony asked as he reached out and picked up Zachariah and placed him in between him and Ziva.

"Scary." He whispered into his father's chest as Tony rub his back trying to lull him back to sleep.

"Sleep." Tony said into his son's hair and kissing him. "You're safe. I'm not gonna let any one hurt you." Tony whispered as he looked up to see Ziva smiling at him, the lights from the street barely shining into the room.

"I remember those words." Ziva smiled leaning over and kissing her son then her husband.

_Flashback_

_Tony groaned as he looked at his watch seeing only that ten minutes had passed since the last time he checked. _

"_This is gonna be a long night." He said as he looked up at the hotel through his car window. _

_The tapping on his window startled him awake and he immediately reached for his gun as he looked to see who was outside his car at this hour. _

"_Ziva?" Tony questioned as he let go of the weapon and removed his keys before stepping out onto the street. "Why aren't you sleeping?"_

"_I cannot sleep knowing you are out here in your cramped car." Ziva said as she looked at everywhere but him. _

"_I'm fine, Ziva." Tony said with a yawn. "Go get some rest." _

"_It is a double room, Tony." Ziva said. "You might as well sleep in the other bed, because I know you will not leave until I do." _

"_Are you sure?" Tony asked with a hint of a smile. _

"_I would not offer otherwise." Ziva said as she crossed the street back to the hotel. _

"_Wait up." Tony said as he grabbed his bag from the car and ran to catch up with her. _

"_Press 8 please." Ziva said with a yawn of her own. Tony nodded and for the first time took in her appearance. She was wearing her boots, NCIS sweatpants probably taken from the gym, and one of his clean oxfords from his desk. He smirked and rested his head against the wall. "What are you smirking about?" _

"_Your attire." Tony said as they stepped off of the elevator and he followed her to her room. "If you could find NCIS sweatpants, you could find a NCIS shirt." _

"_Maybe I did not want a NCIS shirt." Ziva grumbled as she kicked off her boots and climbed back into her bed, where it was obvious she had been tossing and turning for a while. _

"_Why?" Tony asked kicking off his own shoes and pulling an old OSU t-shirt from his bag. _

"_Does it matter?" Ziva asked turning to look at him as he changed shirts. _

"_Yes," Tony said slipping the tee over his head. "it does." _

"_Why?" _

"_Because I'm an ass and even though I know you've been through hell, I need to know that I mean something to you, even if it's barely a fraction of what you mean to me." He said unusually calmly as he gazed at her. _

"_You think you mean nothing to me?" she whispered shocked. "Tony," she started but stopped as she watched as he changed into black sweats and climbed into the other bed. "You mean something to me, that's why I stole your shirt, it smells like you." _

"_It is my shirt." He said as he flicked the light off. "Goodnight, Ziva David." _

"_Goodnight, Tony." She replied as she rolled in her bed so her back was facing him. _

_She knew she hurt him in Africa, by not telling him that she was glad to see him, even if it was the last thing she ever saw. She should have told him that she knew if anyone was going to find her, it would be him. She shouldn't have dropped him on his ass when he had a broken arm, and let him believe she loved another, either. She did her best to cry quietly, not wanting to alert Tony. But he knew everything about her, down to her breathing patterns. _

"_Ziva." He whispered as her breath became shallow. He watched her back waiting for her to answer and when she didn't he risked climbing into bed beside and pulling her tight against his chest. _

"_Tony." She cried. _

"_Sleep." He said into her hair before lightly kissing it. "You're safe. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you."_

_End Flashback_

"Get up, Ry." Tony said as he buttoned up his oxford.

"No." the four year old protested as he buried himself deeper into the comforter on his parent's bed.

"Zachariah Anthony." Ziva warned as she walked out of the bathroom and kissed Tony's cheek as she helped him button his sleeve cuffs. "Go brush your teeth and get dressed."

"Mommy." He whined as Ziva pulled the covers off the bed completely. "Daddy?" he pouted looking up at his father with wide brown eyes.

"Do what she says." Tony said plucking his son from the bed and kissing his nose before setting him on the ground and directing him towards the bathroom. Ziva smiled and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck before kissing him deeply. "Do we have time?" he asked against her neck.

"No, Tony." Ziva laughed as she swatted him playfully. "You still have a two year old you need to wake up and get ready."

"Oh, I have a two year old now?" Tony laughed. "That's funny 'cause last night when he wouldn't let you do anything but hold him, you were all over that, saying how he was your baby."

"You have Zachariah and I have Zander." Ziva smiled kissing him again. "But this morning I will let you have them both."

"Oh gee." He laughed. "Thanks."

"You are welcome, my love." She laughed as she rested her forehead against his. "Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She whispered kissing him again.

"For what?" he asked confused as he heard a bang followed by an 'opps' then cry of Ziva's child.

"Saving me." She said against his lips.


End file.
